Crooked Stitches
by Bri Nara
Summary: When Arthur, a young sorcerer in training, meets a living doll named Matthew locked in a tower, his life gets turned upside down. Matthew has no memory of how he got there and asks Arthur for his help. What has he stumbled into? AU, Maple Tea (England/Canada). Cover drawn by gohagosa100.
1. Prologue: Doll

**United States of Hetalia Productions**

_This little plot-bunny was born when I was sewing a plush bunny for the first time and I started 'playing' with an RP buddy. I don't own Hetalia._

* * *

_"What color would you like your buttons, dear?"_

_Matthew tilted his head in confusion. "Buttons?"  
_

_"You're a doll, aren't you?" the voice asked with amusement. "Dolls need to be finished."  
_

_He felt a chill run up his spine. "Um, no... I'm not a doll, so I'll turn down your offer for buttons, thank you."  
_

_He suddenly felt hands grab his face. They forced him to look up at dark smirk on the other's face. "Those looks, though!" The voice said in faux disappointment. "You're beautiful enough to be such a **darling** doll! All that's missing are proper eyes... If you behave and hold still long enough, maybe they won't come out crooked."_

_He yanked himself out of the vice-grip. "D-Don't touch me!" he cried. "My eyes are fine! I don't need buttons for eyes; I'm not some freakish doll!"  
_

_The voice chuckled. Matthew felt himself being grabbed again. His arm was being pulled into the moonlight from the window. "Are you quite sure about that, dear?"  
_

_Matthew tried to pull his arm away but the grip was too powerful. "I said don't touch me! G-Get away from me!"  
_

_"I'm pretty sure that only 'freakish dolls' have stitches like that."  
_

_Matthew's eyes widened. His gaze went down to his arm and nearly screamed.  
_

_There were thick stitches running up the length of his arm. They were like stitches to a hand-made rag doll. They ran along the sides of both of his arms.  
_

_"W-What..." He started rubbing the stitches, but they were firm and they didn't move. They didn't disappear. "W...What the hell did you do to me?!"  
_

_The other waved his finger. "Tsk. Tsk. You shouldn't use language like that. It's so unbecoming of you."  
_

_Matthew sent him a glare. "I'll use whatever language I want, now tell me what the **hell** you did to me!"  
_

_He chuckled. "I didn't do anything. Though, I supposed that if I have to answer... the same thing I did to your face?"  
_

_"N-Nothing's wrong with my face! It's just fine!"  
_

_"**Sure**... Of course it is." Matthew felt a cold finger run down the middle of his forehead, the bridge of his nose, and it stopped once it brushed against his glasses.  
_

_He flinched and pushed the hand away. "D-Don't. **Touch. **Me." He resisted the urge to reach up to feel the stitches there.  
_

_The other laughed. "You're right. I shouldn't touch anymore. I might pull the seams by accident." There was an incredibly dark smile on his face.  
_

_"S-Shut up! I'm not a doll!"  
_

_The smile grew more twisted.  
_

_"S-Stop!"  
_

_The man let out a chuckle.  
_

_"S-STOP IT!"  
_

_His chuckle turned into an all-out laugh. "Stop what, Dollie?"  
_

_"What you're doing! Just stop what you're doing!" _

_He shrugged. "Alright then."  
_

_All Matthew did was blink and suddenly the man was gone. In his place was a body-length mirror. In the mirror was a boy with wavy blonde hair, thin glasses resting on his nose, amethyst eyes wide with shock, and thick black stitches running down his body that he knew weren't there before.  
_

_"I'll see you around, Dollie..." His maniacal laugh filled the room. Bouncing off the walls, echoing through Matthew's head, terrible and incessant.  
_

_Matthew squeezed his hands over his ears. "Stop! STOP!" He looked away from the mirror. "Change me back! Please! Change me back!"  
_

_And the laughing grew louder.  
_

**Sey, look what you made me write- I mean, uh, review?**_  
_


	2. Cold

_I'm so sorry about this, Mattie, but now that I know I scared you for life, I'm gonna have fun with this~. By the way, this story is very amusing to write while working on sewing projects. Managed to make a pretty cute fox, but my bunnies still look like voodoo dolls (the color is irrelevant, it would still look crappy even if I did make it white). Haha.  
_

_I don't own Hetalia, never will._

* * *

Arthur Kirkland was but an assistant to another sorcerer._  
_

He would run errands for Yao Wang and, if he was lucky, Yao would instruct him in the art of magic for a bit. Though, by the standards of most sorcerers, Arthur was gifted, Yao still treated him like a mere novice.

Which was why Arthur was where he was at that moment. In the middle of a semi-frozen forest up north looking for a specific herb for god knows how long.

_"I need you to go fetch me some rotwood, aru," Yao had said with a grin. "They've run out of it in the marketplace, so I'm afraid that you're going to have to go harvest some yourself. But don't worry. I heard that most of the dangerous animals are hibernating this time of year, aru. Be sure to bring a knife, aru!"_

Honestly, Arthur hated it when the eastern man did these sorts of things to him. But he was just the apprentice. He had no room to argue.

He scooped up another handful of snow and tossed it over his shoulder. He started grumbling in annoyance as he noted the absence of rotwood.

"'Go fetch me some rotwood' he says! 'Go harvest some yourself' he says! It's for _his _bloody potion; why should _I _have to dig through the snow for him?"

At last he saw a small root poking out of the slush. He yanked at it until most of the root was out into the open air.

Several small piles of snow landed beside him. He looked up in confusion. His eyes widened when he saw the branches of the tree in front of him start swinging themselves toward him. He managed to duck and looked at the rotwood root in his hand. It was attached to the tree.

And this tree was _pissed off_.

"Oh no-!" He was cut off when one of the branches struck him in the back of the head.

He tried to ignore the stars that he was starting to see and stood up. He started running before the tree could land another blow, but soon _all _the trees in the forest were attacking him.

Suddenly Arthur wanted to smack his forehead at how _simple _the solution was._ "Why on Earth am I running? I'm a sorcerer! What was that Freezing Charm-"_

However, Arthur never got to cast it. His foot slid to the side in the snow. He found himself suddenly tumbling down a hill. He threw up his arms in an attempt to protect his face.

The last thing he saw before his world turned black was a gray tower.

...

When he awoke, he was very confused. To say the least.

He was in a dimly lit room. The walls were made of stone, as was the floor. There was no furniture in the room besides a shabby cot and a body-length mirror. Outside the window, the moon was hanging high in the sky. Also, Arthur seemed to have a flimsy blanket thrown over him. His head was sloppily wrapped in bandages.

"Hello?" As he stood up, he felt the bandages slip off.

He turned around sharply when he heard creaking. The heavy wooden door moved slightly.

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

Arthur took a step closer to the door when it was flung open. A person in a cloak walked into the room and past Arthur. The hood the person was wearing kept their face hidden in shadows.

"Are you feeling better?" The person had a voice that nearly sounded like a whisper.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the question. "Yes... Are you the one who brought me here?"

"...Yes." A hand tightened its grip on the edge of the cloak. "Y-You were injured and I couldn't just leave you out in the cold..."

"Well, thank you for that. If there's any way I could repay you-"

The figure (man, Arthur had concluded) waved his hands in front of him. "No no! There's no need to pay me! I insist!" He quickly withdrew his hands again.

This made Arthur almost curious. "I'll just be going then. Except..."

"Except?"

"May I at least see the face of the person who saved me from that blasted cold?"

The man pulled the cloak tighter around himself. "I... I don't think it'll be worth it... You should just leave..."

Arthur started approaching him with a light smirk on his face. "No. You've gotten me curious now. I want to see."

"Wh-What's there to see?" The other man was backing away. "It's just a face."

"If it's just a face, then why are you hiding it?"

The other didn't answer. He was stuck in a corner, both figuratively and literally. He ducked his head and tried to pull the hood further over his face.

"Come on." Arthur reached up to pull hood back. "I can't be that bad."

Arthur finally pulled back the hood and gasped. It was a boy with silky, blonde locks. Cracked glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Amethyst eyes were staring down at the floor shyly.

What made Arthur gasp, though, were the crooked, black stitches that ran down the middle of his face.

**It's 3am. I'm tired. I think I'll need to edit this later, it's too blunt.**

**Anyways, review.  
**


	3. Meeting

_Don't worry, I promise that romance won't eat the entire plot (I suck at writing romance anyways). I forgot that people usually don't read fics where England isn't paired up with America, Japan, or France (Prussia seems to be an exception) and fics where Canada isn't paired up with Prussia, America, Cuba, and Russia. My bad.  
_

_I would like to thank gohagosa100 for the lovely cover this fic now has. I don't own Hetalia, nor the_ pic.

* * *

The boy wasn't looking at him. He was looking where-ever he could that wasn't in Arthur's direction.

"Your face..." Arthur gasped.

They were like stitches to a rag doll. Thick, black, crooked, almost looked like they were sewn in by hand. The more closely he looked, the more he thought that they were holding the boy together.

He shoved Arthur away weakly and threw the hood back over his head. "There. You've looked."

"W-What happened to-"

"It's none of your business..." he retorted. "C-Could you please just leave?"

Arthur glanced out the window. "But it's dark out already."

There was a pause before the boy finally said something. "You can stay here for the night. Let me see if have any food leftover."

Arthur held up a hand before the other could leave. "No. Hold on. I think I still have some left in my bag."

The boy watched curiously as Arthur began pulling a number of items from his small bag. Several books, a coat, an umbrella, all sorts of things before he finally pulled out several sandwiches wrapped in a napkin.

"...How much do you have in there?" he asked.

"I don't know. I've lost track."

"How does it all fit?"

He casually unwrapped the food and take as sandwich. "Simple charm."

The boy tilted his head to the side. "Charm? Does that make you a sorcerer?"

Arthur smiled at the slight awe he thought he heard in the other's voice. "Not only am I a sorcerer," he said with a smirk, "I'd say I'm a _brilliant_ sorcerer!"

He had a faraway look. "Is that so..." he said in a dazed voice.

Arthur tilted his head. "Is something wrong?"

Instantly he snapped back into reality and shook his head. "No. You just reminded me of something."

They sat in silence until Arthur held out a sandwich to the boy. He gave Arthur a confused look then glanced at the sandwich. "Um... What are you-"

"You're not even sure if you have food left. You should have one."

The boy shook his head. "No. I'm not really hungry..."

There was a pause before Arthur asked "How long have you been here?"

"I've been here since..." His voice trailed off. Arthur raised an eyebrow when the other started fidgeting. "I can't remember how long. But I know I haven't _always _been here!" he added right as Arthur opened his mouth.

"Do you remember anything before you came here?"

"All I can really remember is that I grew up with my brother, Alfred, and..." He winced as he remembered laughing. Cruel and terrible laughing. He couldn't remember _where _he had heard it, but he remembered it clearly. "...That's pretty much it."

"Do you remember your name at least?"

"Matthew. My name is Matthew. What's yours?"

The sorcerer held out a hand. "Arthur Kirkland."

...

Arthur hauled his bag onto his shoulder and looked out to the brightly lit forest. The snow was nearly shining in the morning sunlight.

He looked back at Matthew, who was trying to blend into the shadow of the tower as much as possible.

"What _are _you doing?" Arthur asked.

"Making sure nobody else sees me," Matthew answered. "Let's just say the last time someone saw me was a bit of a disaster."

Arthur frowned. The poor boy couldn't even get out of that poor excuse of a tower! He wished there was some way to help him...

Wait, he could do _magic; _of course he could help!

"Matthew!"

He nearly jumped at the volume of Arthur's voice. "Y-Yes?"

"I'm going back to man I work for. He's an even better sorcerer than I am."

"And?" Matthew tilted his head.

"Perhaps he know a few illusion charms that could hide your stitches so that you can get out of that tower-"

"_Really_?" He had a hopeful look in his eyes as he beamed at Arthur. "Y-You would let me come with you?"

"Of course."

Matthew came out from the shadow and nearly ran past Arthur. "Thank you, Arthur!"

"Calm down. Calm down. I don't want to alert these damn trees that I'm still here."

...

_It's too early for this. Someone turn off the sun..._

_Wait.  
_

_Is that Mattie?  
_

_What's he doing outside?! Who the hell is that guy with him?  
_

_He can't be outside! What if he gets hurt?  
_

_This is bad. This is bad. This is **bad**!  
_

__**I'm so sorry if this story sucks and it takes a while for something to happen. This is like a rough draft for an idea I have, so yeah, I'm experimenting here...  
**

**Um... review, please?  
**


	4. Yao

_Um, thank you to the people who have reviewed and like the plot and favorited and follow this. I don't own Hetalia._

* * *

"I asked you to get me some rotwood, Arthur, not a guest, aru!"

Matthew looked around in awe at the study he was in. Every surface available was covered in spell books, bottles, glass instruments, herbs, roots, graphs, papers, and all sorts of things he had never seen before. He tugged nervously at the hood of his cloak when he finally noticed the feminine person in red robes amidst the sea of instruments.

"I'm sorry, Yao. But this boy needs your help."

"I don't do public miracles, assassinations, randomly hand out stones of life, brew any potions that take longer than three months, acrobatics, anything to do with elves, overthrow kings, and birthday parties."

Matthew gave him a puzzled look while Arthur shook his head. "It's nothing of the sort, Yao."

Yao raised a slim eyebrow. "Oh? What does he need help with then?"

"He needs-"

Yao waved a hand. "No, no. Let him talk, aru. You said it was his problem."

Matthew froze up when Yao started staring at him expectantly. "U-Um..."

"What is it? Speak up."

He swallowed and said "I need you t-to hide something."

Yao stood up and swiftly made his way to the other side of the desk. Matthew flinched back as the other held out a hand.

"If I am to hide something," Yao said solemnly, "I'd like to see what it is, aru."

Matthew's grip on the hood grew tighter. He glanced urgently at Arthur, as if asking whether he should show Yao or not.

Arthur nodded. "It's fine. Yao is trustworthy."

With shaky hands, Matthew lowered the hood. Yao's eyes widened in fascination as he examined the boy. It reminded Arthur of the look the man had whenever he made a discovery.

"Odd..." he said with a smile. "Very very odd, aru!"

Matthew let out a whimper when he felt Yao's fingers gingerly grab his face. The sorcerer withdrew his hands in surprise.

"I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

"N-No..." But it reminded him of something. Something bad.

"Now, I going to ask you a few questions, aru. I need you to answer honestly. Okay?"

Matthew nodded.

"How long have you had those stitches?"

"I don't know."

Yao tilted his head. "What's your earliest memory, aru?"

"Um... Playing with my brother."

"Did you have these back then?"

"No."

Yao tried to examine closer. "Do you recall if these were magically inflicted or not?"

Matthew shook his head.

Yao let out a hum. "Could you take off that cloak?"

Matthew obediently slipped the cloak off. Now Arthur and Yao could see that the stitches stretched to his arms and his feet. Arthur frowned. What happened to the boy?

"Do they end?" Arthur asked.

Matthew shook his head.

"Well they're clearly magical, aru," Yao observed. "If they were ordinary, they probably would have broken by now." Yao raised an eyebrow at Matthew's horrified expression and Arthur's subtle glare. "What? I said 'if', aru!"

"So... Can you get them off?"

"Hmm... I can try, aru."

Yao grabbed a bowl of sparkling purple gel from on of the tables. He covered the tips of his fingers in the substance.

"It's to isolate the spell, aru," Yao explained when Matthew leaned away. "Since it's on your skin, I need to be careful. Casting a spell on one's body takes precision, aru."

Yao was about to smear the gel onto the stitches of Matthew's face when Arthur grabbed his wrist.

"Yao, I think it would be a better idea to try it somewhere that usually isn't visible." Arthur said. "After all, cosmetic magic isn't really your forte," he added teasingly.

Yao rolled his eyes. "Aiyah! I mess up a cosmetic spell _one _time!"

"No, twice. You did it to Lee too."

"No, at least Lee still has _eyebrows_ while _you _ended up with shapeless caterpillars!"

Matthew let out a small giggle. Yao smirked while Arthur glared.

"What _are _you laughing about?"

He waved a hand. "Nothing, nothing."

They eventually agreed to test the spell on his stomach. Soon Yao was muttering the words while Matthew stared in amazement at the small glow coming from his body.

After several minutes, the glowing finally stopped. Yao nearly collapsed and took deep, staggering breaths. Arthur put Yao's arm over his shoulder so that he could hold him up.

"Did it..." Yao said between pants. "Did it... work... aru?"

Matthew lifted up his shirt. His eyes filled with disappointment when he saw the black stitches still snaking around his torso. The gel seemed to have been used up entirely after the spell was finished.

Yao's eyes only filled with irritation. "Are you... _kidding _me, aru?!" He managed to push himself off of Arthur and took a shaky step forward. "Do you know how much energy that took out of me? And it didn't even _do _anything?"

Matthew looked down to the floor. He looked ashamed. "I-I'm sorry..."

Arthur blurted out. "There's no need to be sorry! Yao was never very good at spells of this sort anyways."

Yao slumped into a stool. "Well... Whoever put those there used a _very _powerful spell, aru." He looked up Matthew up and down. "Are you... human, aru?"

Matthew's eyes widened. "O-Of course I am!" he cried in a saddened voice.

"Why would you even ask that, Yao?"

The elder sorcerer held his gaze before he sighed. "No reason... Just..." He grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen. He scribbled something down in an uneven scrawl. He shoved the paper into Arthur's hand. "I know I wasn't able to help much, but he's the address of an acquaintance of mine who might be able to, aru. He's lives in a city west of here. In Shift."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why are you handing it to me?"

"Because I expect you to go, of course."

Arthur smirked. "Are you sure you can handle not having an apprentice for a while?"

Yao waved a hand. "It's fine. I could fetch my own ingredients anyways, aru." He smirked back. "The apprentice I have now couldn't even fetch me a plant."

...

Yao shut the door behind the two of them and let out a sigh.

He had a feeling it would be a long time until Arthur would be back.

He hadn't seen anything like that for half a millennium. Back around the discovery of the stone of life.

He turned around. His eyes scanned the room. He only saw his usual equipment and work, but he knew there was something off.

"Come out, aru."

When there was no change in his surroundings, Yao stepped forward. His eyes started searching for the slightest change in atmosphere.

"I know you're there. There's a barrier all around this building. I _know _when someone enters and leaves, aru. Even if I can't see them." When he still received no answer, he said, "give me a sign that you're there."

Suddenly, a flask started to rise off of his desk. It lowered itself when Yao approached it.

"Are you a ghost?"

A pen started levitating over a sheet of paper. Soon a message was shining in black ink on the paper.

_No, I'm not._

"What are you doing here then, aru?"

_I'm guarding something._

"What is your name?"

**Annnnnd there it is. Came out a little longer than I thought it would be.**

**Anyways, review, please.  
**


	5. Dream?

_I'm sorry for such a long delay on this chapter. I don't own Hetalia._

* * *

Arthur was asleep on the ground. His cloak was wrapped tightly around him and he was laying beside what used to be a campfire.

Matthew, on the other hand, was staring at blankly into space. Purple eyes wide open yet unseeing. Sitting in an upright position and occasionally blinking, one would think he were merely daydreaming.

He was being observed with sorrow. _Can't even sleep anymore... Mattie..._

* * *

_There were images flashing before his eyes. Familiar yet distant._

_There was a young blonde with glasses beaming at him. He looked similar to himself, only his hair was shorter, straighter, and a great deal more unkempt. Behind him was a large stone that reached up to his waist._

_"Come on! Come on!" he said eagerly. "You have to see this amazing trick I learned!"_

_"Are you going to try to jump over the rock again?" Matthew asked._

_The other boy scoffed. "No way! That's baby stuff now!" He turned to face the rock. "Watch."_

_He pressed his palms together and began muttering. The language was like none that Matthew had ever heard before. The hands held a soft glow to them. The boy brought up a small fist and slammed it down onto the stone._

_Matthew let out a cry of surprise when the stone shattered into pieces at the force of his brother's punch. "W-What was that, Al?"_

_Alfred grinned and motioned for Matthew to come closer. When his brother was close enough, he placed his mouth beside his ear._

_"Magic!" he whispered._

_"M-Magic?!"_

_"Shhhhh!" Alfred pressed a finger to Matthew's lips. "Do you want the whole kingdom to hear you?"  
_

_"B-But magic is forbidden!" he stammered. "It's dangerous! It's-"_

_"Helpful!" Alfred motioned to the broken rock behind him. "Look at what it can do! That's just one spell! What if I found a spell to make food? To make money? Nobody would ever be sad ever again!" Alfred's eyes were filled with a fiery passion. "I'm just trying to be a hero."  
_

_Matthew sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want you to get into trouble."_

_Alfred let out a laugh. "Trouble? Me? Come on, what could go wrong?"_

_Suddenly the scene was fading away. _

_Alfred was older now. Stronger. Worn._

_He gave Matthew a sad smile as he placed a hand on his brother's head._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Suddenly there was nothing but pain. All across his body, its most intense point on his head._

_He couldn't see._

_He couldn't breathe._

_He couldn't-_

* * *

"Matthew! Matthew, snap out of it!"_  
_

Matthew blinked in confusion. The world finally faded into focus. Arthur had gripped him by the shoulders and had a panicked expression on his face.

"Wha...What happened...?" Matthew asked.

"You... You were having a fit," Arthur explained. "You were shaking and screaming. Are you alright?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was... It was just a nightmare," he said in spite of the fact that he didn't remember falling asleep.

Arthur looked slightly relieved. "If you say so..." He pulled his bag over his shoulder. "Are you ready to go?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

**Sorry this chapter is so short. ****Next chapter, we meet Yao's acquaintance. Bet you can't guess who it is!  
**

**Review, please.**


	6. Directions

_Thank you all for waiting. I don't own Hetalia._

_Oh, to clarify, not everyone in this universe can use magic. And magic is divided into dozens of different branches and sub-branches._

* * *

"Um... Are you sure this is the right place?"

"It's the address that Yao gave me but..."

Arthur and Matthew were standing in the middle of the city of Shift. They had searched through the crowded streets and asked the odd-looking people where to go. While many of the residents of Shift were some variant of shapeshifter (one man who lead them there had scales on his cheek), Matthew still had his cloak wrapped tightly around him.

They were staring at the sign of the shop that Yao had written the address to. While the sign itself was wooden, the painted rose and name, 'La Jolie Fleur', on it were flashing in bright red. In flashing green was the slogan that said 'We sell beauty'.

Arthur looked around once more before finally walking up to the door. "This had better not be some trick of Yao's..." he muttered.

When he opened the door, three things happened. First, a small bell rang from somewhere above him. Next, a small shower of rose petals rained down on Arthur's head. Lastly, a blond man who was sweeping up hair from the floor looked up from his work and smiled.

"Welcome, gentlemen!" he said cheerfully. He crossed the room with a grace that left the female clients staring in awe. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy; how may I help you?"

"Hello," Arthur said politely. "We were sent here by Yao because apparently you're good at cosmetic magic."

Francis smirked. "Oui, one of the best! Now let's see..." He tilted Arthur's chin up so he could examine his face. "Those eyebrows... Mon dieu, have we got some work to do-"

Arthur slapped his hands away. "It's not for me! It's for him!" He pulled Matthew between him and Francis as a sort of makeshift shield.

"A-Arthur!" Matthew squeaked. He started blushing as the clients started giggling at him. Commenting on how 'cute' he sounded.

"Aw, there's no need to be timid," Francis said in a calming voice. "Can you take the off your hood for me?"

Matthew hesitantly reached up. This man seemed like he wouldn't mind much, like Arthur and Yao. He flung his hood back.

Suddenly, there was a wave of shocked gasps and startled yells throughout the shop. There was at least one high-pitched scream coming from one of the patrons. Matthew quickly threw his hood back on and tried to hide himself behind Arthur. Even then, he could feel the scared stares he was receiving which made him try harder to hide.

Francis, however, didn't bat an eye. He sighed in what seemed like exasperation and turned to the rest of his clients. "Honestly, have you all forgotten where we are? We're in _Shift, _people! I see more transformations gone wrong _in a day_ than everyone in this room put together has in their entire lives! Do I need to remind you all that this is a _magic shop? _There's an actual barber down the street from here, they could _really _use some business!"

One petite customer crossed her arms and smirked. "Then how come you always cut our hair when we ask anyways, Francis?"

His exasperation looked like it melted away as he smiled at all the girls in the room. "That's because I simply can't say no to a pretty face like yours, cherie." And then there was squealing.

Arthur nearly gagged at this. Honestly, what kind of sorcerer _was _this Francis?

"Um...?" Matthew asked quietly. "Mister Francis...?"

That seemed to return his shopkeeper's attention to them. "Oh! Yes, yes! Come this way, gentlemen!" He lead them to a room in the back, which had a small library and a flight of spiral stairs.

Arranging the books was a girl with pigtails who looked a few years younger than Arthur. She smiled and waved at them. "Hello!"

"Victoria," Francis said to her. "Go outside and tend to the costumers. I have a difficult spell to do."

"Yes, sir!" With that, she left the room.

"Now that we're away from prying eyes, can you show me again?"

Matthew obediently removed his cloak for Francis to examine. The sorcerer furrowed his eyebrows.

"I assume that Yao sent you here because he couldn't remove these, correct?" Francis said as he stopped.

"Yes," Arthur answered. "He tried removing them himself, but he just ended up exhausting himself."

"Hmmm. That is because one can't simply remove them."

"What do you mean 'can't simple remove them'? Some greatest cosmetic sorcerer you turned out to be."

Francis shook his head. "It's that this was caused by a powerful spell. A body spell, no less."

Arthur's face fell. "Oh, that's why..."

Matthew tilted his head in confusion. "I don't get it. Isn't all magic the same?"

Francis and Arthur gave him equally confused looks. "No," Francis answered. "Of course it isn't."

Arthur pulled out a sheet of paper and a quill. "No. You see, Matthew, it's a bit more like this." He wrote the word 'MAGIC' at the top of the sheet. Then he drew several lines sticking out from beneath it; writing several words connected to each line like 'Physical', 'Elemental', 'Object', and 'Fate'. "It's split up a bit like this. These aren't all the branches, mind you, but these are the basics."

Francis took the quill from Arthur, much to the other's annoyance, and drew three lines branching out from the word 'Physical'. "And each of these are divided like this. 'Physical' spells refer to any spell that focuses on a person's body. Understand?" When Matthew nodded, he wrote 'cosmetic' on the first line. "Cosmetic spells only deal with one's appearance. Most shapeshifting only qualify as cosmetic magic since they only change what they _look like_ but not what they _are_." On the second line he wrote 'body'. "These deal more with what you are. Your anatomy and such. Which is why I can't help. Imagine it like... er..."

"A make-up artist from the local theater performing surgeon," Arthur said bluntly. He put a blatant taunt in the words 'make-up artist'.

Francis gave him a glare. "Not the words I would have used, but yes. Something like that." He wrote 'Healing' on the last line. "This is for restoring one's body to what it once was. These can all be combined with some other branch, but that's much more difficult."

Matthew stared hard at the paper. "What's that?" He pointed at the branch that said 'Fate'.

Arthur's expression hardened a bit. He divided it up into 'Blessings', 'Sight', and 'Curses'. "These affect one's life. Blessings benefit a person, such as a spell to make you lucky for an hour. Sight looks at one's life, their past and future. Curses are only cast with the intent to harm someone..."

...

They were walking back through the crowded streets. They were heading back to the inn they were staying at.

Matthew felt disapointed. Even Francis couldn't help. He felt like he was wasting Arthur's time and energy on a spell that couldn't be broken...

It was then that he collided into somone. Matthew fell to the ground. He looked up at the person he crashed into.

It was a tall man who towered over him even when he was standing. He had pale hair that reminded Matthew of the snow outside his tower. He had a rather large nose that still suited his face well. He had purple eyes that were the same shade as Matthew's.

"I-I'm sorry!" Matthew said nervously. He realized his face was out in the open and quickly covered it.

The man didn't react. He was merely observing him. Finally, the man extended a hand out to help him up. "You look... very familiar."

Matthew took the hand and stand back up. "T-Thank you, but I don't think I know you from anywhere."

The man had a look of realization, then gave him a wide smile.

"Oh, you are Alfred's brother, da?"

**Okay, I finally made it to this part. Most of this chapter was typed out on a phone, so if there's a bunch of weird spelling mistakes and typos, that's probably why.**

**Review, please.**


	7. Guide

_Hurray for plot thickening! I hope the explanation last chapter wasn't too confusing. Blah blah, I don't own Hetalia._

* * *

Matthew looked up at the man, who was still smiling down at him, with wide eyes.

"Y-You know my brother?"

His smile grew just a bit wider. "Da. You could say I've had a big influence on him."

It was at that moment that the ends of the the long scarf the man was wearing started moving. They were being stretched out, almost as if someone were pulling on them.

"Um... What's wrong with your scarf, sir?" Matthew asked.

He shrugged. "It's nothing. Just the wind." He grabbed the scarf and gave it a swift yank. The scarf fell limp in his hand. "Tell me, have you seen your brother around?" The fabric around his neck started shifting, trying to move aside to reveal the vulnerable skin. He ignored it and moved the scarf back into place.

Matthew shook his head. "No... I haven't seen him."

The man had a sad look upon his face. One of sympathy. "It must be hard, not being able to talk to your sibling."

Matthew nodded, looking down at the ground. Was Alfred okay? Did he get in trouble like he used to? Did he know what happened to Matthew?

"I believe I can tell you where he is."

Matthew looked up again with a hopeful expression. "Really?"

He suddenly felt a hand on his wrist. It felt strong, warm... urgent. He was pulling the boy with enough force to make him stumble. It was pulling him away from the purple-eyed man who knew Alfred.

A gloved hand grabbed his other wrist. The man was holding Matthew in place, though he didn't seem to be using much effort. The force from the other hand increased, but the man managed to pull him forwar gently.

"He's far up north and east. He's out looking for you. I believe he's in a town called Valhall." He shrugged. "Well, that was the last place I met him. You should go see for yourself, da?"

Now the force was nearly enough to snap Matthew's wrist, but at the moment, he didn't care. "Thank you! You've done a huge favor for me, but I don't even know your name..."

"You may call me Ivan."

Ivan released him. Matthew was sent running as he tried to stay on his feet. The hand that was clamped to him couldn't be seen as Matthew was dragged into the crowd. He glanced over his shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Ivan. The pale-haired man was waving to him, smiling with a certain glint in his eyes.

"So long, Matthew!" he heard over the crowd

* * *

_Mattie! No! Stay away!_

_This damn scarf...! Ivan, enough with the teasing! Stay away from Matthew!_

_MATTIE! NO! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! PLEASE!_

_I wish you could hear me again, Mattie! Just... come... ON!_

_That look... I'm too late._

_Dammit... I promised that I would protect you... and I will! No matter what!_

* * *

Arthur, meanwhile, was looking for Matthew. He thought that he was right behind him until he was unlocking the hotel room and talking to air.

"He was such a... I don't even have a word for someone like him! A... A frog! That's it, he's a frog! That suits him well. What do you think, Matthew?" When he received no answer, he finally turned around. "Matthew?"

Matthew wasn't behind him. Arthur looked around for him, but he wasn't there. Arthur felt something like panic worm up the from the pit of his stomach. This was the boy who was nervous to let people see him, after all. He must have been terrified.

Arthur muttered a quick swear and went back out the door. He scanned the crowd for any sign of him. "Matthew! Matthew-"

He suddenly felt someone run into him. He turned around to yell at whoever it was until he saw the violet eyes and the bright smile.

"Arthur!" Matthew said eagerly.

"Matthew?" Arthur asked. "Where were you?"

"I ran into someone and now I think I know where Alfred is!" The smile on his face faded as he registered the other's words. "Wait... I'm sorry. Were you worried about me?"

Arthur could feel his face heat up slightly and shook his head to hide it. "N-No! Of course I wasn't worried, you idiot! You're old enough to take of yourself! Why would I be worried about you?"

Matthew looked slightly disappointed for a moment before he remembered what he was about to tell Arthur. "Nothing... Arthur, I think I found my brother! I know where we're going next!"

**Annnnd, there we go. Last chapter I have before school ends. Hope you enjoy it. I love hearing your guesses on what's gonna happen next; I think it's cute.**

**Review, please.**


	8. Village

_Glad you guys think it's different; that's what I was aiming for. I don't own Hetalia, but thankfully, the idea isn't quite Hetalia._

* * *

_Damn fairies..._

_Damn Ivan..._

_What am I going to do? I can't take on those fairies! And I highly doubt that eyebrows guy can take them on._

_Why can't fairies just leave us alone? Who died and made them the magic... police... thingy...?_

* * *

_Matthew could see a room full of books.  
_

_He couldn't understand what the print inside of them meant, but he could clearly see detailed pictures of bodies on the pages. Alfred was up on the bed reading one of the thick volumes by the candlelight. His face was twisted in concentration that made the boy look much older.  
_

_"Al...?" Matthew asked drowsily. "What are you doing?"_

_Alfred looked up from his book and answered, "I'm studying."_

_Matthew crossed his arms. "So you're still going through with this magic thing?"_

_Alfred gave him a weary smile. "Yup."_

_He shut the door behind him. "You should at least close the door when you're keeping a secret. Mom might wonder what you're doing up this late."_

_"Oh. Oops!" Alfred rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin on his face._

_Matthew could barely believe it. It was still his brother and he was the same person, but now he was a sorcerer... A lawbreaker..._

_"Hey," Alfred said. His tone was serious and his face was stony. "Stop looking at me like I'm going to hurt you. Only bad guys hurt people for no reason."_

_"I know you wouldn't, but..." Matthew averted his eyes and looked to the ground._

_He could hear the other put his book down and get off the bed. Alfred's hands soon were on his shoulders.  
_

_"If you're still worried that I'll get in trouble, I won't be! Some day, we'll be allowed to use magic and nobody will ever get in trouble for it ever again!"_

_Matthew tilted his head. A world where magic wasn't illegal was hard to wrap his head around. "When will that be?"_

_"When the Council finally realize how useful magic can be! Someone will discover proof of it and rub it in their snooty faces," he said with a smirk. "It'll be huge! Bigger than life!" _

_The room, the books, and his brother were fading away._

_However, he wasn't awake yet._

_Everything around him remained inky until he heard a voice._

_"I... I did it..."_

_It sounded like Alfred. His voice was deeper._

_Matthew tried to make the darkness go away. What faded into his vision was a familiar sight of grey. The ceiling of his tower._

_"I did it! I actually did it!"_

_Matthew looked around. He was in his cot and it was definitely his tower. However, it felt much more crowded. There were piles of books and a table full of jars shoved into the tiny room._

_There was a man pacing around. He looked about Matthew's age now. His golden-blonde hair was unkempt. His movements were sluggish, as though he hadn't slept. There was a manic smile on the man's face. His blue eyes were wide with both shock and delight. He was a child who had gotten away with a huge trick.  
_

_"This is incredible... Impossible... But I did it!"_

_"Alfred?"_

_The man stopped pacing. His head snapped in Matthew's direction. The smile got wider. Tears started welling up in his eyes._

_"Alfred?" Matthew asked nervously. He unconsciously started scooting away as his brother approached the cot. "A-Are you okay?"_

_He let out a squeak of surprise as he got pulled into a hug. Alfred let out a laugh. "I'm okay. Better than okay! I feel _great! _All that hard work payed off! Do you know why?" Alfred held Matthew away from him so that he could look him in the eyes. _

_"Why...?"_

_"Because I did it. I've finally made my discovery. I _did it_."_

_"But what have you done, Alfred?"_

* * *

It was morning. The two travelers could see the outline of buildings as they trudged through the snow.

"Matthew?" Arthur asked. "Did you have another nightmare?"

Matthew flinched and looked back at Arthur. "I can't remember if it was exactly a nightmare but... Wait, how did you know I was dreaming?"

Arthur smirked at him. "I've noticed that you talk in your sleep when you're dreaming. You didn't say much, you just said 'Alfred' repeatedly."

Matthew gave him a look of confusion. He never really remembered when he falls asleep. "I did?"

"Loudly."

Matthew looked guilty. "Oh... I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"I wouldn't know if you were talking in your sleep if I were asleep."

At last, they reached the iron gates of the town. All around there were people wandering around. There were holes in the backs of their heavy coats to allow bright wings to spread out. The two could see pointed ears on each of their heads.

"Arthur?" Matthew whispered. "What are they?"

"Fairies," Arthur whispered back. "Very old and magical beings. Don't stare, Matthew, you of all people should know that it's impolite."

There was one fairy who stopped in his tracks. A flutter of his light blue wings ruffled his fair hair. The fairy had a boyish face that stretched into a smile at the sight of them.

"Oh!" He came toward them. He looked them up and down with curious purple eyes. "It's been a while since we've had humans come here! Welcome to Valhall!"

Matthew self-consciously tugged at his cloak. "Hello."

Arthur stuck out his hand. "Hello. I'm Arthur. And you are?"

The fairy took his hand and shook it vigorously. "Tino! My name's Tino! Oh, you're a sorcerer too! That's pretty impressive!"

Arthur's eyes widened and he jerked his hand away. "H-How did you-?"

"Oh, we can all tell with just a touch," Tino explained. "Anyways, not many humans come up here. Though if they do come, they're usually sorcerers... Which means... Oh! Do you need help with anything? That's usually why they come here; for help with something."

Matthew spoke up. "Yes, um, do you know if anyone named Alfred came here?"

Tino tilted his head and he gave Matthew an expression of pure confusion. "Alfred? Alfred... Alfred... I'm not really sure. The name _sounds_ familiar. I think that Berwald mentioned him to me once." Suddenly the smile was back. "I know! We can ask him! Come on!"

Tino grabbed Arthur and Matthew's hands; he started half-dragging, half-leading them down the street. But a moment after he grabbed Matthew's hand, he stopped. He stared at Matthew's hand in his own and started mumbling something.

"Is something wrong, Tino?" Arthur asked.

Tino started moving again. "Nope. Nothing."

**Okay, I liked writing this chapter. I liked it a lot. Though, I think I made Finland a little _too _chatty.**

**Review, please!**


	9. Dangers

_Glad to see that someone's catching on. And this isn't exactly 'good' if the plot is a bit... organized chaos. That is what the plot planned out so far is: organized chaos. I don't own Hetalia._

* * *

Matthew's fingers felt numb with pain in Tino's grip. The fairy hadn't said another word to Matthew since he grabbed his hand.

"Um...?" Matthew said nervously.

Tino didn't turn around nor did he slow down. "What?" he asked.

"C-Could you please let go of my hand? You're hurting me..."

"We're almost at Berwald's house," Tino answered flatly. "Then, it won't hurt anymore."

Arthur frowned at the tone in Tino's voice. The fairy almost sounded angry at him. But that couldn't be right; Matthew hadn't done anything wrong.

Looking around at the houses, they noticed that all of them were made of different materials. They passed by one small house made of obsidian; _fresh _obsidian, judging by the ring of melted snow around the house. There was one home that looked like someone simply took a tree and started carving the shape of the house into it. However, it was obvious had done some additional carving to the wood, someone had crudely carved "Norge's Place" into the door. Next to the wooden house was a house seemingly made completely out of metal. Arthur silently hoped that whoever lived there was smart enough not to have metal floors, otherwise the poor fool probably had frostbitten feet all the time. It had the same crude carving into it, only it said "Matthias' Place".

The house that they were approaching was much more simple. It was made of stone, blocks of stone stacked together to form a house. The inside was just as simple.

There was a man with dark blue wings working at a desk. His dark blonde hair was shining in the morning sunlight. In his hands was a piece of wood. Each time his fingers pressed into it, it yielded into his touch like clay.

"Berwald!" Tino said. He released their hands and ran up to the other fairy. "This sorcerer needs your help!"

Berwald stood to face them. He towered over the three of them. Arthur nearly let out a gasp and jumped. The man's face was as stony as his home. Icy blue eyes stared down at them from behind his glasses.

_Ironic that the closest thing I've ever seen to troll is a fairy, _Arthur thought.

"T'no," Berwald said in a husky voice. "What 's it?"

Tino gestured for Berwald to bend down. Tino whispered into the taller man's ear. Urgent. Worried. Accusing.

Berwald straightened up and looked Matthew in the eye. Matthew felt tiny and helpless under his gaze.

"'M B'rwald. H'w can I h'lp?"

Matthew stepped forward. "I-I'm looking for someone. Do you know if someone named Alfred came by here?" When the man merely raised an eyebrow, he continued. "He's my brother. I haven't seen him in years and I'm really worried. And I think he might know what happened to me."

Matthew threw his hood back. Tino raised his eyebrows, but otherwise, didn't look surprised. Berwald looked him over, his face unreadable.

"C'mere."

Berwald held his hands out to them. The two grasped his hands. He quickly pulled his hand away from Arthur's; he had instantly learned what he wanted to know. However, he lingered with Matthew. His brow furrowed in concentration. When he finally pulled away from Matthew, there was almost a look of surprise on the larger man's face.

"I kn'w wh' y' mean. I'll tell y' where h' went." He looked Arthur straight in the eye. "Y' mind? I want t' tell him al'ne."

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'alone'? Matthew's with me."

Matthew put a hand on his shoulder. "Arthur, it's fine. We're just going to talk for a bit. Okay?"

Arthur crossed his arms. "Fine." As Tino lead him out the door, he glanced back at Matthew. He didn't miss the nervous look on the boy's face.

Tino quickly shut the door behind them. He shoved Arthur away from the house as quickly as possible, failing at being subtle about it.

"So, Arthur! This is your first time here, isn't it? I should show you the sights! Like... um... the aurora we have here! It's really pretty at night. We can wait for it at my house if you wa-"

"Stop stop STOP!" Arthur halted the avalanche of words and managed to get Tino's hands off of him. "What about Matthew?"

"What about who?"

"Matthew! The boy I was with!"

"Ah, yes, that." He averted his eyes from Arthur's face. The smile was beginning to falter. "We'll take care it. Don't worry."

"What do you mean 'take care of it'?"

Tino raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?"

Tino frowned. "Arthur. You're a sorcerer. You know about the Laws of Magic, right?"

"Of course, but what does that have to do with-"

Suddenly there was a scream. Arthur's eyes widened and he immediately sped off in its direction. He wrenched the door to Berwald's house open.

Berwald had Matthew pinned to the wall, the boy's feet dangling inches above the ground. He was gasping for air. Both of his hands were pulling on the larger hand against his throat. His eyes were wide and filled with tears of fear. The fairy's other hand was reaching toward Matthew's chest.

"_Matthew!_" Arthur cried out. Without thinking, completely on instinct, Arthur threw his hands up. There was a flash then a crack as lightning shot out at Berwald.

The fairy couldn't even turn around as it struck him in the chest. He released Matthew and stumbled back. He looked up in surprise, which quickly morphed into anger.

"Come on!" Arthur threw one of Matthew's arms over his shoulders. He was much lighter than Arthur thought, so that made it easier to get him out.

"Hey! STOP!" they heard Tino shout the moment they were out the door. "Don't let it get away!"

**Well, that's the most I can do at the moment. It was originally going to have more in it, but it was too long.**

**Anyways, review, please.**


	10. Laws

_Here's the next chapter; this was updated quicker because it came from the same stream of thought as the previous one. I don't own Hetalia and the summary has a big fat **AU **in it._

* * *

There was snow flying and sound of several pairs of wings beating.

Matthew and Arthur trudged through the snow as quickly as they could. They had to flee Valhall and now the two were being chased down by a group of fairies. However, they were at a severe disadvantage since their pursuers could fly.

"Well, well, well!"

The two stopped as one of the fairies nearly crashed into the ground in front of them. He sent snow flying. They looked up to see a fairy with blood-red wings and a small silver bracelet. He was grinning down at them.

"It's been a while since we've seen one of you!" the fairy said as he examined Matthew. "Guy I know went to deal with one of you at least a couple hundred years ago! Thought that was the last of you. Buuut, seeing as you're here, we were wrong."

Matthew's eyes were wide. "W-What do you mean 'one of me'?" His voice was shaking and it wasn't from the cold. "I-I'm just M-Matthew! Just Matthew! A human who just got cursed, that's all!"

The red-winged fairy barked out a laugh. "Hey, Lukas! Check it out! It can talk! It only says stupid things though."

Two fairies, one with indigo wings and the other with light purple, landed gracefully behind him. The blonde with indigo wings, presumably Lukas, had a quiet voice. Thus, Arthur couldn't hear what he was saying until he came closer.

"...lem? Of course it can talk, Matthias." His eyes shifted toward Matthew. "I'm sorry," he said monotonously. "We've been ordered to dispose of any law breakers of magic."

"That's impossible!" Arthur exclaimed. "Matthew doesn't even have magic! What law could he have possibly broken?"

"He may not have broken it himself, but he's still an accomplice," Lukas stated.

The fairy with white hair and purple wings stepped forward. "The law he broke was: 'You shall not-'"

Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and sent to the ground. He tried to get back up, but he seemed to be pinned down by something.

Lukas turned around, concern evident on his face. "...Emil?"

"Hey! What the hell are you doing to him?" Matthias shouted at Arthur.

"I'm not doing anything!" Arthur shouted back.

"No!" Emil shouted from the snowy ground. "It's something else! You can't see it, but something else is here! I can feel it! It... It used to be a sorcerer!"

Matthias looked from Emil to his targets. "Seeing as you brought backup, let's cut to the chase, shall we? Scarface, you're accused of being involved with a magical screw-up. How do you plea? Guilty. Kay. As your sentence, your penalty is death!" Matthias stepped toward Matthew, chuckling a bit when the boy started scrambling back.

"Wait!" Arthur stood in front of Matthew. "The second Law of Magic states that 'You shall not intentionally kill someone with magic'! You can't just break a law to punish someone for breaking a law!"

Matthias smirked. He held out a hand, palm up. "Who said I need magic to deal with you?" He snapped the fingers of his other hand. His bracelet glowed and started to grow. It was suddenly an axe that fell into his open palm.

He raised the axe over his head. However, he was forced to the ground before he could swing it. The axe landed beside him. There were footprints in the snow, starting from where Emil was.

"This... I know this curse!" Matthias shouted. "The Invisible Eyeball Curse! This is I-" His jaw was forced shut and the arm closest to his axe was pinned down.

Arthur felt Matthew grab his hand. "They're distracted!" Matthew whispered to him. "Let's get out of here!"

They felt their legs grow much colder and the two of them looked down. Their legs were encased in a thick layer of ice. The ice was creeping up their bodies. Lukas was pointing at them and he was chanting a spell under his breath.

"W-Wha-"

"Matthew," Arthur said quickly. "We only have one way out of this. But you have to grab onto me. For this spell, you have to keep contact with me. No matter what."

Matthew gripped his hand even tighter in response. Arthur closed his eyes and started reciting the Teleportation Spell. He was a jack of all trades and that particular spell could go wrong in many ways. He had to remain focused until they reached their destination. He heard the crunching of snow behind him, but he ignored it. He was nearly done.

He finished chanting and he was about to send them away. However, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He let out a gasp.

His focus broke.

* * *

_I'm sorry about this. I let you finish so it shouldn't be too bad, right?_

_Also, thanks for defending Matthew, Eyebrows-Guy..._

_Er... Arthur._

* * *

Matthew could feel a pressure all around him. Like he was being shoved into a bottle. It felt like there was cotton in his mouth. He couldn't breathe. He wasn't sure whether he'd burst from the pressure or the lack of air.

As quickly as the pressure came, it stopped. He landed in snow once again. However, there were no fairies. No danger. Only the danger of snow blowing around them.

"Well," Matthew said between pants for breath. "Looks like you did it, Arthur." He waited for a response, but received none. "Arthur?"

He looked around and his eyes widened in horror. Arthur was on the ground beside him, yes, but he wasn't conscious. He would have looked peacefully asleep were it not for his shallow breathing. Matthew shook his shoulders, but he remained unmoving.

"A-Arthur! Arthur, wake up! Help!" Matthew searched for something. Anything besides snow. He had to get Arthur somewhere warm. "Somebody help! Arthur! He might...! Someone help him! Please!"

**How terrible of me to leave it there. Oh well!**

**Review please!**


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